William "Bill" Cloud

First and foremost, William "Bill" Cloud was a family man: he was happily married for fifty-nine years to his one true love, the proud father of two beautiful daughters and the adoring grandfather of two grandchildren. He had a strong work ethic, a great faith in God and compassionate heart that he extended to everyone around him. Family, friends and faith - these are the things that mattered to Bill Cloud.

The early 1920s were a collage of interesting events. There were power struggles in Russia, Babe Ruth was making baseball history, and the first Miss America was crowned. For Ukrainian immigrants, John and Mary Chmurynski, of Grand Rapids, Michigan, this was a time of celebration for their family as they welcomed the birth of their son, William. Bill was the third youngest of eight children: Metro, John, Michael, Nicholas, Mary, Bill, George and Ted. They all grew up on the southwest side of Grand Rapids, living on King Street SW, and later on Sibley Street NW. The family were members of St. Michael's Ukrainian Catholic Church on the west side of town.

While Mary stayed home tending to the needs of the family, John earned a living as a tailor, working on Bridge Street NW. Times were always hard with such a large family, so once the children were old enough, they went to work. When Bill and his brothers found some leisure time, they could always be found fishing in the nearest pond. The children all attended the area elementary school, and Bill went on to graduate from Davis Tech in 1939.

One of Bill's earliest jobs was at Losey's Market on South Division, working at the meat counter. Over time, he learned the trade of a butcher, which became his lifelong career. However, this ambition was temporarily interrupted when World War II broke out overseas, and he proudly followed the same patriotic calling of other young men, enlisting in the U.S. Marines. During his four year tour, Bill served in Hawaii and later in Japan during the reconstruction. Upon his honorable discharge, he returned to work at Losey's Market and eventually became the butcher.

One fateful day when Bill and his brother stopped in at a local tavern, he met a lovely young waitress named Teles Wilczewski. After Bill got his nerve up to ask Teles out, the two began dating and fell hopelessly in love. After eighteen months of courtship, they were happily married on August 2, 1947, at St. Adalbert's Church, where Teles' family were members. Following the ceremony, they had a reception at a downtown restaurant in Grand Rapids, before whisking off on a romantic honeymoon at a cottage on Little Pine Island Lake.

The newlyweds made their first home together in a house on Bridge Street NW, which they rented from Teles' uncle. Some time later, the couple moved to an apartment at 845 Cherry St. SE, right next to her parents' home. Meanwhile, Bill took a new job as the butcher at Tip Top Market on the west side of town, though he later became the Meat Department Manager at Eberhard's. A couple of years after marrying, Bill and Teles started a family of their own with the birth of their daughter, Shirley, on August 31, 1949, followed by their second daughter, Melissa, on April 26, 1955. The family were faithful members at St. Andrew's Cathedral, where Bill and Teles were active in many of the church activities, including Bingo. While Bill served as an Usher and former Ushers' President, Teles was involved with the Ladies Guild. In the 1960s, the family moved to a home at 237 Luray on the west side, but continued to be members at St. Andrew's for the next several years. Eventually, they transferred to the Holy Spirit Catholic Church near their home.

Although Bill was busy six days a week with his career, it was always apparent that his most important job in life was taking care of his family. He truly treasured the quality time he spent at home with his wife and daughters, but also looked forward to their weekend visits to his/her parents and siblings. The holidays were always a special time too, and Bill was most often the "chef" for these family get togethers. He made an amazing turkey dinner, but his true specialty was his fresh polish kielbasa, which he recruited the whole family to help make. Some of his other family favorites included his stir fry and soups of all kinds. When it came to his more leisure moments, Bill liked reading the Grand Rapids Press from cover to cover every day as well as watching the daily news. He also enjoyed catching a good old western movie or detective show on TV. For his listening pleasure, Bill loved the melodies of the "old crooners", like Frank Sinatra, Perry Como and Bing Crosby, or just tuning into the oldies station.

In 1978, Bill was diagnosed with rectal cancer, but after surgery and chemotherapy treatments he made a full recovery. In 1983, at the age of 62, Bill retired from Eberhard's. He and Teles now had more time to visit with their daughter Melissa and her husband Nick and their two grandchildren, Kjol and Kelci, who lived in Port Angeles, Washington. Bill also enjoyed visiting his family whenever possible. But while at home, Bill enjoyed tending to his yard or tinkering in his workshop. Unfortunately, he later suffered a small stroke and was hospitalized for a time. Because of the stroke, Bill suffered balance and walking problems, which ultimately ended his driving. It soon became apparent that Bill needed more specialized help than could be provided at home so he went to live at Brookcrest Manor in Grandville. His family visited him just about every day and they were very appreciative of the wonderful care he received from the dedicated staff at Brookcrest. In time, Bill's health suffered greatly and he lost his ability to walk and speak entirely. On Tuesday evening, Bill peacefully passed away in his sleep.

Bill will be forever remembered as a devoted husband, father, grandfather, brother and good friend who will be deeply missed.

William J. "Bill" Cloud, age 85 of Grand Rapids, MI, passed away at Brookcrest Nursing Home on Tuesday evening, February 20, 2007. He is survived by his wife of 59 years, Teles Cloud (Wilczewski); his children, Shirley Cloud, and Melissa (Nicholas) Turner; his grandchildren, Kjol and Kelci; his brother and sister: George (Esther) Chmurynski, Mary Feilu; many nieces, nephews and friends. Bill was preceded in death by his brothers, Metro, Nicholas, John, Michael and Ted.

The Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at Holy Spirit Catholic Church on Saturday, February 24, at 11:00 a.m. (please meet at church) with burial in Holy Cross Cemetery. Relatives and friends may meet his family at Heritage Life Story Funeral Home - Alt & Shawmut Hills Chapel, 2120 Lake Michigan Dr. NW, on Friday, February 23, from 2-4 and 7-9 p.m. with a vigil service at 7:00 p.m. Memorial contributions may be made in Bill's memory to Brookcrest Nursing Home. Please visit www.lifestorynet.com where you may share a memory of Bill or sign his online guest book.